Where there was no gray
by Mirakss
Summary: She was in college. Again. 5Th time in the row, to be exact. It was a perfect place for Claire Bennet. People coming and going so fast, nobody had a time to think, that their cheerful blond classmate was not changing. Claire/Sylar story
1. Chapter 1

**When there was no grey**.

She was in college. Again. 5Th time in the row, to be exact. It was a perfect place for Claire Bennet. People coming and going so fast, nobody had a time to think, that their cheerful blond classmate was not changing

_Hey guys, it's my first fanfic ever, so be gentle. Heroes happened to be my latest obsession,Sylar, to be exact. Though I enjoyed this show for years, something after Star Trek and my love for Zachary Quinto just clicked inside my head. So I wanted to spill something on the "paper"._

_I do not own Heroes, or any of the characters. If I did... well the show would be slightly different. *sigh*_

_This story takes place some 25 years after the show_

_Well - on with the story._

**Chapter 1**

**Except for one.**

She was in college. Again. 5Th time in the row, to be exact. It was a perfect place for Claire Bennet. People coming and going so fast, nobody had a time to think, that their cheerful blond classmate was not changing. And it is true. Claire stayed the same, like 25 years had not passed by. She had all the time in the world, and what is the best way to cure one's boredom? The Company, with the death of her 'beloved' grandmother, was destroyed, those who knew about it, decided to forget about it like a bad bad dream. To many lives were sacrificed: her parents, Matt Parkman, Mohinder. She lost contact with Peter, the only person, who has ever been her safe harbor, her hero. He was so devastated, when he learned about his brother's death, that he chose to hide himself from the ghosts of his past.

People with abilities were not hunted anymore, files burned. Building 26 no longer a prison with cold grey cells. Nothing to remind of those dreadful times was left, except for the pictures of blood, screams, running and fear in her head. But it was also the time, when Claire felt, that she was alive, that she could make a difference, to help, to be a hero. It was a happy time, when she had her family and house in sunny Costa Verda. When she was loved, protected, understood. When she could make muffins with her mum, play with Mr. Muggles, brag with Lyle. Now she only had herself and memories of her glory days.

Sylar disappeared. She has not heard from her personal boogeyman for almost a decade now. Not that she was complaining, but deep inside she knew, that Gabriel Sylar could never be totally gone, never would he stop haunting her life. She still woke up at nights covered in sweat, heavily breathing, with his soft voice in his ears and dark eyes that burned like coals before hers. She was terrified to meet him again, to see his towering black figure, feel total helplessness, that destroying desire to kill him, to rip him into pieces.

But most of all she was scared to feel that doubt."We are the same"- he told her during their last meeting. He never lied to her, she was thankful for that. She only laughed at him and promised to spend her life trying to kill him. But it was that dark doubt that kept her from going back to sleep after her nightmares. Was she a good person, she always claimed to be? Or has the lines blurred after so many years? She knew he is out there, somewhere, lurking in shadows, collecting, waiting. In some ways, though she would never confess it to herself, it was comforting to know, that some things in a life never change no matter what.

So she was alone now, and college life suited her just fine. Provided she was a Bennet and Petrelli heir, she did not need to think about money, so she studied and hung out with her friends at day, and sought a company of total strangers at night. With men her biological age, she felt treated like a dumb college cheerleader. Though she was never against a one night stand. She loved the thrill and excitement of the darkness and neon lights of the club, where she did not need to be Claire Bennet, where any name would do, where she could put any mask she wanted. Where in the thick smoke and sways of heated bodies on the dance floor she forgot, who she really was, and the sad prospects of her eternal life of loneliness

She tried to date guys of her "own age", but hormone-crazed youngsters rarely got her attention for a long period of time. She usually got them where she wanted from them, batted her eyelashes, swung her hips and wrapped them around her little finger. No man among her acquaintances was immune to her charms. Except for one boy.  
James Cliefield. He was a student at her year and she was friends with her roommate's brother. At first he seemed to her that he was this tall-dark mysterious geeky type, who preferred the company of his books than living people. But after she saw him at her friend's party, dressed elegantly in black, he handled himself smoothly and managed to charm everybody around with a ready joke, a smile and a flash of his eyes. Something about his aura and dark eyes was familiar to her.. but she thought she was just paranoid.

She had always had a thing for dark-eyed guys after all.

They rarely communicated at first, but after a couple of parties and a couple of drinks, they started hanging out. She was fascinated with James. He was highly intelligent and mature, far more for his own age He as always his charming self, but never tried to make a move on her. He respected her, but never lost an opportunity to tease her about her cheer-leading history. They talked about books and their favorite movies, about hopes and dreams, but never about each others past.

It was easy for Claire this way. Easy to the point, that she felt like she was in this far innocent time, when she was Claire-bear and everything was painted black and white.

When there was no grey.

Read and Review. Next Chapter coming soon


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Thank you for all your reviews. This is the second chapter. It is mostly about Sylar. But wait for the next one. I promise you some good interaction between them)_

_Now on with the story_

**About timepieces, bugs and spagetti**

Life was boring for Gabriel Sylar. After living a quatre of century, never chanching, never aging a day and practically alone could do no good even to such an isolated person as Sylar. At first he had fun adding new delicious exciting powers to his collection, but after a decade realised, that there was no abilities to collect.

He tried traveling around the world. He surounded himself in his New York penthouse by a collection of rarest most expensive books. He read them all. He savored every page. He drouned himself in stories, lived with the characters. He even started repairing watches was not a mean of earning money now- he had a whole Fort Knoks with just a wave of his hand. There was something strangly comforting in rearanging the timepieces, in being able to do something in this world right.

To still be able to have this ability to fix.

He tried bringing women to his house, going to fancy clubs, trying on different masks and new stories, but that soon lost its appeal. The routine was too boring. Plus the women she ususally brought to his bed were strangely patterned and alike. All tanned blondes with shy little smiles.

After Angela's Company desapeared and there was no one to hunt him, no Noah Bennet to tackle his nerves, no Matt Parkmann to mess with his brain and no Claire-bear to stick a kitchen knife into his flesh, life became too simple- lonely even, though it was never a word he would use to describe the current situation.

And speaking of little blond cheerleaders. It was not the first time Sylar thought about her. She reminded him of that "fun" times when adrinaline and deception was the part of his game. She was his one time obsession after all. Sha gave him his most prized shining ability- to live forever.

She was always the very embodiment of everlasting life. Claire was young, ripe and cheerfull. Well not in the moments, when he was near her- than her face would be contorted with fear, anger- fury even. She always awoke strong emotion from him. He felt more alive. He kept teasing her, when frightening was no longer an option. She was like an old friend who could understand his inside joke.

He never lied to her. It was strange, but he always found them alike. And with the realisation of this fact he understood, that even when the whole world collapses- he will be the one standing on his feet with Claire by his side. She just needed time. The last time he saw her alone 25 years ago, he tried proposing to her. But he never really meant it that day. He knew the answer before she voiced it. He tried telling himself, that he was ok with the whole "I'll keep trying to kill you for the rest of my life" thing, but deep inside he was wounded.

He told himself, that he did not need her all these years, though ee sometimes wondered, what made her ticking after all this time, or she has just died out like the rest of her family? He would never admit it to himself, that he feared that moment. He was afraid to be left alone in this changing world.

So he desided to find her. After all he was always good at stalking- a rather tastles word, but a right one nevertheless. After weeks of investigation-he finaly found her. And was quit surprised by her choice of location. She was in college in Atlanta.

Why was he surprised after all? A perfect place to blend in for a woman, who always stayed locked inside a body of a teenage girl. For a moment after his discovery, he was confused. Confront her directly? Manipulate her? Sylar did not want to break her, she was too presious. He wanted to play with her, just like old times. So he desided to enrole into the coledge as James Cliefield a boy at her class, befrend her, learn things about her.

First weeks he was merely observing, planning on how to get to her closer without scaring her away. He was patient, became friends with that dumb Kevin boy. Sylar watched with a small hint of annoyance, how he, among other young hormone-crazed boys looked at her. And how Claire responded to their attemps. Gabriel chose a role to play. It was not too hard even after the years of confinement in his own flat with watches to get into her friends' good books. He always could be charming, when he wanted too. After all colegge life was not so bad at all.

He soon learned all the small things about her. How she loves eating icecream with hot chocolate on a rainy day sitting on a window, how her favorite movie Trilogy is the X-men(prety ironic)and she cried every time Jean Grey died, she loves dogs as pets, spagetti with cheese, she is afraid of spiders and detests bugs. She always averted talking about her past, and when she did, she had this sad look in her, so he tried not to press it. They sat hours in coffee shops, they studied together. Soon like one of these days, Sylar realised, that he enjoys her company too much, like when she is not with him, he thinks about her. She was realy easy to be with and difficult to be without. She was like an addiction to him. And he did not want to get a cure from it.

Read and Review please.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Sorry guys, I could not updaty any time sooner. The summer is amazing, time rushes like jet plane. I am going to NY this Sunday! My first time in USA. So Big Apple- here I come!_

_But on with the story!_

_ PS. It's up to you to deside what will Sylar do next ;)_

**A dance of change**

One night Sylar desides to follow his "new friend". He kept wondering for quite some time where was she going all these evenings. He did not particularly buy her "girl's night out", thanks of his lie detecting ability.

( A very troublesome one in a place like college, young people do have a tendency to not be entirely truthful, to say at least. So he got a small electroshock charge several times everyday).

He chose a different face for himself, an older one, put on a dark shirt, dark jeans, and followed her into the dark.

She caught a taxi, and it took her to a fancy club. So this is where his innocent Claire-bear was spending her nights out.

Sylar entered the doors after her and blended with the crowd. He took a cocktail at the bar. At moments like these, he hated his regenerating ability. He could not get drunk even if he wanted to. The burning sweet liquid could calm his nerves. Why was he nervous anyway? He watched her from a balcony on the second floor. And what he saw, was not something he liked. Not that he dissaprooved her. She looked stunning.

His eyes followed her, as Claire in her tight purple strapless dress, that was hugging her skin like a glove, attracted many men in the club. She was swaying with the music, her long golden curls jumping in the lights. Her movements were soft and rhythmical. She seemed relaxed and more like herself, than among the company of her so called friends. Her eyes closed, a small mischievous smile on her lips.

Many approached her. She really enjoyed the attentions of men. Claire knew of the effect, she had on them. She pressed her small body sometimes too close, she meant too tease her occasional partner. Her intentions were crystal clear. She obviously was having fun, drunk with her power.

Sylar did not find the whole situation funny at all.

Something long lost, but still familiar stirred inside of him. Anger, jealousy?

What was she doing? Why was she behaving like that? What was wrong with a naive little cheerleader he met so long ago in Odessa? This sinuous woman,(he could not call her any differently now) was different from the girl, that he as James Cliefield spent hours talking to. He wondered what possessed her to act that way? What kind of loneliness and recklessness made her jump into the hands of these strangers.

Blood boiled inside of him, as he watched his Claire pawed by some lowlife. No one supposed to touch her like this. She belonged to him. For a moment Gabriel nearly lost all his control. He was blinded. He wanted to jump down right from this balcony, rip her hand from the crowd and cause an old fashioned bang, for them ever touching her like that.

But as he regained his cool, he came up with a more sophisticated plan: He would be the man to take her tonight. This way he would gain more knowledge about her and use it in his further advances. So he took one final sip of his drink and a couple of calming breaths, straitened himself, and step down to the dance floor.  
It was harder to approach her than it looked. She was cornered in a tight mass of heated bodies. After several long frustrating minutes he found her face to face to him.

His new form was very good looking. A little bit too macho for his taste, but it suited Claire just fine. Sensing a new pray, she curved her lips in a flirtatious way, looked him appreciatively from head toe and put her hands around his neck.

For a moment Sylar felt like everything suddenly stopped. The breath caught in his lungs, he could hear nothing, except the mad beating of his own heart. He felt that his plan was falling apart. That he could not pretend. he wished that it would be another place, not this dim lighted room, and another time. And most of all, he wished the gorgeous woman he held in his arms, that was pressed so tightly to his body, that he could not decide where her body ended and his started, knew who he was. that she looked at him like this realizing, that he was Gabriel Gray, not some Shawn Willford(he used this name for such occasions). He wanted her to know, how he felt even after all this time.

He wanted.. so many things.

Gabriel inside him wanted to morph into his familiar face. But he knew, that he would see shock, anger and hatred etched in her face the moment it happens. So Sylar inside himself made him continue his little game.  
He smiled back at her, tilted his head slightly and brushed his lips along her jawline and whispered seductively into her ear the most cheesy line he could muster: "I could not keep my eyes of you for the whole night. You ensnared me. Can I learn your name?" She made a small laughing sound, so unlike herself and whispered:"Tracy. My name is Tracy".

Tracy, the name did not felt alien on his lips. He remembered at last. Tracy Straus, the freezer girl from the Company. She had a pretty juicy ability, pity, he was too late to collect it. Ironic. He was not the only one desperately clinging to the past.

Sylar knew, what he needed to do next. Take her to a hotel room and have his way with her. She was most certainly willing to spend the night with charming Shawn Willford. But every step they took to a door of his fancy room, he was starting too feel more and more uncertain about it.  
With a soft clicking noise, the door opened, she snacked her arms around him and panted a deep kiss on his lips. Who was he to say no to her. he answered with passion, that could easily blow his cover, but it did not really matter for him at that moment. He wanted Claire Bennet for all these years, and now he had her in his arms.

_Read and review.)_

_Ha ha! So what will Sylar do next!?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Hey guys. I am sorry I did not finish the story. This half of the year was kinda hard on me. But after seeing the last 4 episodes of Heroes my inspiration and love flourished. I mean. Have you seen them?! Lots of Sylarie goodness and Sylar wanting to change. That was ultra sweet. And the season was amazing with the focus on right characters *nods appreciatively*. I am so sad that the last episode airs monday. I am really gonna miss them all. But enough chitchat. Let' s bring it on_.

_And Heroes still does not belong to me. *searches for Sylar in her closet. Nope.*_

**Flashbacks and ghosts.**

_Sylar's POV_

Why... Why was she behaving like that? And what the hell was wrong with him. Here she was. Claire Bennet - the constant in

his life, his invincible cheerleader. Ready, flushed and perfectly willing. And here he is. The great Sylar, feeling like a

teenager again. Bashful unsure geeky Gabriel Gray- the watchmaker with no future. In vests, weird shirts and damned glasses.

His mother's angel. I guy, who never had a shot with the likes of Claire Bennet.

Stop. Stop. Control yourself. But how was that even possible with her body so tightly pressed to his. Her mouth latched to

his neck in a sensual kiss. Her Tiny hands quickly unbuttoning his shirt. Sylar gently pushed her on the couch. Somehow this situation was strangely familiar.

He remembered it clearly. Twice, he had her like this.

First it was the table in her house in Costa Verde. On her dining table. Tears on her face and fear in her eyes. That day he took her ability. Practically robbed her. Carved her head. It was bloody. Messy. His heart was pounding mercilessly. Because of the knife in his shoulder. But mostly because of the thrill, desire and excitement of the chase.. 3 years .. and he finally got Claire. Got his prize.

_**Are you going to eat it?**_

Sylar quickly discarded that memory.. it seemed so unnatural now.. almost dirty.

The second time was a less intense experience.  
He came to her while she was in college. After her face appeared on his hand in ink. His heart's greatest desire. After being

stuck in Nathan's consciousness and Parkman's head, he realised what he truly needed. Love. Friendship. Acceptance. It was

then he knew his greatest fear. Fear of spending the rest of his life alone. Eternity was a bottomless black pit then and

Claire seemed to be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. He confronted her, told her all his shameful ideas, drew

all their similarities, but she was still looking at him with resentment. Venom and hatred dripping from her every word.

**_ You are a psychopath.  
_**

He did not choose her.. it was destiny. How could she be so blind. So stubborn. never being a patient man, Sylar needed

answers. He kissed her. Again against her will. He wanted to tell himself that it was just for fun, to tease her.. he just

needed a touch... It was a good lie. And again. Face contorted with fury, disgust and fear.

He looked at Claire in his arms. And saw a hint of a doubt in her eyes. No he can't do that. He can't lie to her or to

himself. He can't lie, that the feeling Claire woke in him so long ago was love. And he could not force a woman he loves. If

it ever happens- it would be willing. On both sides.

- Stop.

_Clair's POV._

Another night of thrill. Of faceless strangers. Of heated aroused bodies. Of blood pounding in rhythm with music. Tall dark

man. Shawn. They are flirting. His room, dark rich smell of cologne and something distantly familiar, from the past.. or

from James.

James. That's right. She felt guilty lying to him. But they were just friends. Sure, she liked him, but he was not showing it, even

if he was interested. Only she caught his stare when he thought she was not looking. Long waiting patient longing look. But

perhaps she was just paranoid. James's disappointed face flashed before her eyes. Than... surprisingly...Sylar's sarcasting

trademark smirk. Wow. That was new. What would he say if he knew of her demeanour. But why did she even care. This thought of Sylar, of James ruined it. She could not do it. Not to him. This has to

-Stop!

_Sylar's POV._

-Stop!

Did she say it too?

-I can't do it. Sorry, I must go.

She was blabbing now. Out of breath from their activities and beet red from shame and heat.

Claire pushed Sylar with one

hand, grabbed a purse and ran out of the room, leaving him confused and very much aroused.

_That's pretty much it. Sorry again for the delay. Read and review. They make my day!_


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